A Previous Life
by Luralei
Summary: Once upon a time, Jade and Dist were best friends, but was only friendship really as far as it went for the two of them? This story gives insight into the lives of Jade and Dist during their school days, and what really happened.
1. Chapter 1

Jade x Dist.

Saphir is Dist's real name. This story takes place during their school days when they were younger.

Typical Disclaimer: I do now own the game, anime, characters, etc. Belongs to Namco Bandai.

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Deeply sighing, Jade Balfour unknowingly took his first step into the classroom that would define the rest of his life. The bright rays shone through the window and hurt his auburn eyes. The chatter of his irksome new classmates pierced his ears and his head started throbbing. "This is ridiculous," he thought. The new private school founded by the apparently famous Gelda Nebilim seemed like a waste of time to Jade, who was forced to attend by his overly affectionate parents. Jade didn't need school, he thought, he was always smarter than the other children, and his former professors found him terrifying. Jade's ignorance about the value of life horrified everyone around him. His sister described him as a devil. Why would anyone at this new "prestigious" private school think any differently?

Jade reluctantly took his seat at the back of the class, by the window. He immediately noticed the white-haired boy sitting in front of him. He could smell the scent of the winter pine along with a faint trace of fon machine oil coming from this boy. Jade has always been interested in the science of fonons, developing fomicry, the process of creating replicas, at the early age of nine. His first replication was of his sister Nephry's favourite doll, when she broke it playing on a tree.

Jade's thoughts were disrupted when an older woman with short blonde hair clicked her heels on the floor as she walked to the front of the classroom.

"Good morning, class. Nice to meet you all. Let's jump straight into introductions. Stand up, say your name then say something about you. I'll start. My name is Gelda Nebilim. I researched the six catalyst weapons as a part of the Oracle Knights. Next."

The introductions were totally uninteresting to Jade until the white-haired boy in front of him stood up. His hair reached to the mid of his neck. Standing up, he seemed taller than he was before, but not quite as tall as Jade.

"I'm Saphir Gneiss," he said cheerfully, "My dream is to rule the world!"

The class broke out into laughter. As Saphir ran, crying, out of the room, Jade caught a quick glance of his defined face and his glossy black eyes. He'd never been attracted to any girls but the feeling he had for his new classmate was something fascinating to him. Jade's only interest thus far in his life has been experimenting with fonic artes.

Right after Jade walked out of the school door, he immediately heard the squeaky voice of his sister, Nephry. She was eagerly waiting for him all day.

"Jade! Jade, Jade, Jade! How was your first day of school?"

"Nnh… Nothing special."

"Any friends?"

"No."

"C'mon Jade, you're so boring. Mom wants you home, and she says not to use any fonic artes on squirrels on your way back today."

The walk back to the house was cold and lonelier than usual. Jade's thoughts were occupied with something other than fonic artes. The next day, Jade did not want to admit that he found himself almost excited to go to school. When he arrived, Saphir was already there, sitting in the desk in front of him. The light that streamed through the window reflected off his light hair and made it look like it was glowing. Professor Nebilim walked into the classroom for the first official lesson on fonic artes. Nothing Jade didn't already know. After dozing through class, lunch came sooner than he expected. Looking for a nice spot to eat, he stumbled across a small door at the end of the corridor. Wondering what was behind this windowless door, Jade entered, and found something unexpected. Saphir, crouched in the back of this small, empty room, was eating his grilled cheese sandwich.

"May I eat here?" asked Jade, politely.

"Nnn..Whatever."

Jade quietly sat down on the other side of the room and started on his eel rice, occasionally glimpsing at the young man opposite him.

"Jade, right?" asked Saphir.

"Yeah."

Silence filled the room. The atmosphere isn't awkward but it isn't comfortable either. Saphir was long done his food while Jade was just finishing and about to leave the room.

"Wait," uttered Saphir, "Eh, nevermind.."

Jade left their little room and decided to skip class for the rest of the day. He needed a little break and went to the library to read about artes. He has already read most of the books on the topic that the library has. Reading was now more of a stress reliever for Jade. He needed to get his thoughts away from a certain white-haired boy.

Immersed in a book, Jade didn't notice when someone familiar entered the library. Jade has never noticed Saphir in the library before but now he easily recognizes his wild demeanour. Subconsciously, Jade's eyes traced his every movement until Saphir's black pupils met his. Slightly flustered, Jade quickly turned his blushing face away from the other's view. Determined to try to keep his focus on the book he was reading, Jade turns his eyes to the words on the page, but his mind wanders to the flamboyant man across the room. Finally, being able to focus on the pages in front of him, a pair of hands suddenly land on his shoulders, disrupting the flow of the words.

"So, Jade, nice seeing you here," quietly chuckled the shy boy with a smile on his face.

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This is my first fanfic ever, heh.. Review, but be gentle! I'm very reluctant to continue this so let me know if you actually like it...


	2. Chapter 2

Jade nearly jumped out of his seat with the touch of Saphir's hands on his shoulders.

"What the hell was that for?" said Jade, smiling on the inside.

"I just saw you sitting alone in the library and decided that you were my friend!"

"WHAT? Jeez, don't go deciding these things on your own. Friendships are double sided."

"Aw Jade. Fine, don't be my friend then! See if I care!" pouted Saphir.

"….I never said I didn't want to be your friend," muttered Jade.

"REALLY? So you'll be my best friend then?" said Saphir, excitedly.

"I never said BEST friend, but whatever…I'll be your friend."

A huge grin immediately crossed Saphir's face. Jade was also smiling broadly although he wouldn't show it.

"So, Saphir, why were you so quiet at lunch today and so talkative now?"

This question hit Saphir harder than he expected. The seemingly innocent question had an unanticipated answer to it.

"…My mother passed away recently. I met my father at the funeral yesterday and I lost my home to the debts he pushed onto my mother and I. I wish I had more power, enough to bring back everything I have lost, everything that is missing from my life. I want to conquer and rule the world… and make it so that no one has to suffer like I did. I suppose I was just lost in thought during lunch."

Jade was left more speechless than he had ever been before in his withdrawn life. He just wanted to walk over and hold Saphir in his arms and assure him that everything is alright, but to Saphir, everything really isn't alright. Jade wanted to make him feel better, somehow.

"Let's go visit your mother's grave."

Saphir was stunned then gave Jade a sad smile.

"Alright…"

The cemetery was north of Keterburg, on the perimeter of the forest. The snow had recently fallen so the trip there was cold and tiring.

"Ah, I forgot my gloves," said Jade.

"Here, take one of mine."

"But what about you?" asked Jade.

"Why don't you just hold my hand so we'll both be warmer," suggested Saphir.

Jade's cheeks burned up as he reached over to his friend's hand. Their fingers tangled around each other. Jade noticed the softness and warmth of Saphir's hands, opposed Jade's rough hands made from the hours of fonic arte practice.

The rest of the hike was quiet and tranquil. The both of them found themselves subconsciously slowing their pace to enjoy the pleasurable moment together. Approaching the forest, the familiar scent of winter pine that Jade first smelled on the white-haired boy entered his nose. The day they first met must have been the day Saphir's mother's funeral was held.

Standing in front of the tombstone Saphir examined every letter, almost unable to believe the truth of his mother. Tears welled up in his eyes and started to move down his red-tinted cheeks, freezing before they could reach his chin. Jade turned towards Saphir and noticed the sadness in his eyes. He moved his hand gently towards Saphir's cheek and wiped away the liquid sorrow. Staring deeply into each other's eyes, Jade had a sudden idea. He could use fomicry.

It was a ridiculous idea. Fomicry was still unproven, the replication of things has not been perfected. In fact, it has only ever been tried once and on an inanimate object. To replicate Saphir's mother and make another? There were a thousand possible problems and a thousand more questions. Would she retain her memory? Would she live a long life? Would she born a new baby or at the same age as before? Would it even work? Jade's mind processed a thousand possible solutions to a thousand possible problems, but there were still too many risks. Jade had the intelligence and the equipment, but he was unsure about his work.

"Jade...? Jade?"

Jade snapped back to reality at the sound of Saphir's voice.

"You were kind of out of it there for a moment. I'm fine now, I can accept my mother's death. I don't need to brood over this any longer, so let's go back now, shall we?"

"Saphir, do you want to come to my house? My parents and sister should be out."

Smiling genuinely, Saphir agreed. By the time they managed to trudge back to Jade's house, it was already dark. Jade shyly invited him in. He has never let anyone besides family enter his home before. In a short two days, Saphir managed to enter into a part of Jade's heart that was never revealed before.

"Let's go to my room to warm up. You can stay overnight."

"Thank you, Jade.."

"No problem, you deserve some help. I'll go get some food for you."

While Jade was gone, Saphir crawled into Jade's bed.

"I'm back. Hey, that's my bed."

"Nnnhh Jade, let me sleep here."

"Fine, just eat this first. You'll starve. And move over, I'll squish in with you if you don't mind."

Saphir happily munched on the pudding, realizing that he really was quite hungry. When he was finished, Jade got on the bed too, right beside Saphir, face to face.

"Jade, aren't you a little close?"

"Would you like to get off my bed then?"

"...No..."

"No complaining then. I don't have anywhere else to sleep."

"Jeez Jade, you're real nice."

Drifting off into a deep sleep, Saphir thought about his mother. He wishes he could have been there for her last moments. Hours later, Saphir woke up suddenly from a nightmare. Cold sweat covered his body.

"Saphir? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Bad dream. I'm alright."

"Are you sure...?"

"Yeah, just go back to sleep. Sorry."

Jade felt a need to wrap his arms around the body beside him. Comfort and warmth was the only thing he could offer Saphir in his time of need. As Saphir felt the warm touch of Jade around his form, he realized that Jade's lips were only inches from his. Leaning forward, Saphir finally felt the warmth that he needed for so long.

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Thanks for reading this second chapter! I'm not sure where I'm exactly going with this story, but please review if you would like to see more. Be gentle. (:


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